


Save Your Innocence for the Next Life

by violentgril



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Aaron Whump, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Caretaking, Christmas Fluff, Human Disaster Aaron Burr, Hurt/Comfort, Light on the Romance, M/M, Major Illness, Sick Aaron, Someone help Aaron please, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:20:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21962728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violentgril/pseuds/violentgril
Summary: Aaron Burr is a genius law student studying under the prestigious Dr. George Washington. Coincidentally, Alexander Hamilton is too. Alex seems to have everything Aaron doesn't - friends, happiness, Dr. Washington's attention and highly coveted TA position - while Aaron's life just keeps getting progressively worse and worse.To top it off, Aaron thinks he even likes Alex, just a little bit. But Aaron only knows how to shut people out and suffer in silence, even when he's horribly ill. Can Alex and the Hamilsquad show him he doesn't have to always be alone?
Relationships: Aaron Burr/Alexander Hamilton
Comments: 19
Kudos: 239





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hi thank you for reading! This has been sitting on my hard drive gathering length since July 2016 and I'm finally forcing myself to post and stop being such a perfectionist. Hope you enjoy! Title is a line from the song Trouble by Natalia Kills.

Aaron Burr spent the first day of his junior year of college dodging in and out of various school bathrooms. The stomach flu had been making the rounds among those who had stayed on campus for the summer break, and Aaron had tried so hard to avoid it. As he threw up his meager granola-bar breakfast, he miserably thought that he had avoided all the other summer students for nothing. He may as well have gone to the on-campus functions and gotten the flu over with during the break, because it was absolutely going to ruin his first few days of classes. 

The door to the bathroom creaked open and Aaron heard multiple voices chattering loudly. He took a shaky breath and willed his stomach to stay steady until they left. 

“ – what’d you do then?!” came an eager voice.

“I shoved the rest of the burrito into my mouth and screamed, “COME AT ME BRO!” Okay, tried to scream, I mean there was half a burrito in my mouth – ”

“That’s gross. You’re gross.”

“YOU’RE gross.”

“You’re the one talking about food in a public bathroom!”

_Nope_ , thought Aaron to himself. _That’s it for me_.

And he proceed to puke. Again.

When he finally stopped and, panting, wiped the tears from his eyes, he realized the restroom was silent.

“Oh my god,” came a disgusted whisper from just outside his door.

“Shut up, John,” the second voice said, and Aaron nearly lost it again when he realized he knew that voice. 

_Alexander Hamilton_. Of course it would be. Not quite friends, not quite enemies, Aaron considered Hamilton to be, at the very least, a thorn in his side. A very interesting thorn, yes, who often provided lively debate that Aaron couldn’t quite keep himself from engaging in, but also one who constantly stole the spotlight and garnered the affection of the law department head, Dr. Washington. It irked Aaron to no end.

There was a tentative knock on Aaron’s stall. “Buddy? Hello? You okay in there?”

“Go away,” moaned Aaron, resting his head in his hands.

There was a pause. “Yeah, you don’t sound okay. Do you need help?”

Aaron gritted his teeth and hoped Alex didn’t recognize his voice as he spoke again. “M’fine. Go away, please.”

“Maybe we should go,” said the other boy, who Aaron knew had to be none other than John Laurens, Alexander’s constant companion and sometimes lover.

_Although that could just be rumors_ , Aaron reprimanded himself. It didn’t do to gossip…although he found he often couldn’t avoid it, when the topic of conversation was Hamilton. Aaron had known from day one that Hamilton would be a nuisance in his life, in one way or another. It just so happened that his dislike of Alex had morphed into a weird sort of obsession with the man, and he couldn’t help but listen in whenever someone brought him up.

Which was, unfortunately, often. On their small campus, there weren’t many topics of conversation more interesting than the antics of Alexander Hamilton.

“He clearly needs help,” Alex said to John outside the stall. “Hey buddy? I’m gonna come in now, okay?”

Aaron’s head shot up and he had to pause for a moment to steady his vision. “What? No, don’t!”

But suddenly the door was opening – God knows how, hadn’t he locked it? – and Alexander and John crowded around the stall entrance. 

“ _Burr_?” said Alex. He and John exchanged a glance, and John shrugged. “You all right?”

“Stomach flu,” said Aaron tersely. “Please go away.”

“You should be in bed,” Alex said, pushing into the stall and kneeling down by Aaron. “Come on, let me help you.”

Aaron shook his head and ignored Alex’s extended hand. “Have to go to class.”

“You can’t,” protested Alex. “Sorry, Burr. Let’s get you back to your room.”

He grabbed Aaron by the arm, helping him stand. John reached out to steady him while Alex picked up Aaron’s bag and slung it over his shoulder. Aaron really didn’t want to miss his classes, and he definitely didn’t want to go anywhere with Hamilton, but his roiling stomach and pounding head silenced any protests. 

“That’s good, come on, let’s get out of this gross bathroom,” Alex said. “What’s your schedule? Is it in your bag?”

Leaning Aaron against the wall, Alex dug through the front pocket of Aaron’s book bag and pulled out a sheet of paper. He studied it for a moment before nodding.

“Okay, mostly major classes, that’s good,” he said. “John, can you run to Dr. Washington’s office and let him know that I’ll be late, and that Aaron’s got the flu? Here, take Aaron’s schedule, I’m sure Washington can alert the other professors.”

“Got it,” John said, taking the schedule and eyeing Aaron. “Get better, Burr.”

Once John was gone, Alex turned appraisingly to Aaron. “So, that’s taken care of. Now you can just sleep for a few days, okay?”

Aaron started to open his mouth to argue, but his stomach threatened to rebel again, so he simply nodded and let Alex continue to chatter as they walked back to Aaron’s dorm. Despite the fact that Alex lived off-campus in a house with John, Aaron wasn’t surprised that Alex knew where he lived. Alex’s other best friends, Hercules and Lafayette, lived only one floor below Aaron. Hercules was a junior like Aaron, but he was the Resident Assistant of the sophomore floor. The RA for the junior floor was none other than Charles Lee, who Aaron privately referred to as the Resident Asshole. Unfortunately, as Aaron didn’t have anyone to room with this year, he had been assigned as Lee’s roommate. They’d been living together all summer and still had the entire school year to go, and it was, in no uncertain terms, hell. 

Blessedly, Lee wasn’t around when Alex and Aaron stepped off the elevator on Aaron’s floor. Alex gently leaned Aaron against the wall and dug through Aaron’s bag for his keys. He opened Aaron’s door and returned, wrapping his arm again around Aaron’s shoulders and helping him into the room.

Distantly Aaron realized that Alex’s mouth was running a stream of commentary, but Aaron couldn’t be bothered to focus long enough on what he was saying. As soon as Alex deposited him in his bed, Aaron closed his eyes and willed away the nausea that threatened to overtake him again.

Aaron wasn’t sure when Alex left, but he didn’t see him – or anyone – over the next few days. It was quite like Lee to disappear for days or even weeks at a time, despite having responsibilities as the RA. Aaron wasn’t sure, but he thought Lee was crashing with the Resident Director on the top floor with his large, full-sized flat. Thomas Conway was as big of a jerk as Lee, and the two got along swimmingly.

Aaron barely moved from his bed over the next few days, only emerging to scavenge for food and water. The first time he did so, he found, as always, his side of the kitchen devoid of anything except some sparse cans of tuna and beans. He might have been a highly intelligent scholarship student, but at the end of the day he had no friends, no family, and certainly no extra money to spend on things like groceries. The dollar store and nonperishables were his unhealthy saviors. 

Sighing, Aaron shuffled to the door of his flat, and in his sickly haze nearly missed a small canvas tote bag next to the door. Inside was a piece of paper ripped from a notebook, placed on top of a pile of soup cans, bread, and over-the-counter flu medication. He picked up the note first.

“ _Hi Burr! Hope you’re feeling better! I couldn’t find any soup around so I grabbed you some stuff. I pushed your key under the door after I locked it, don’t worry. Anyway, I told Dr. Washington you’d be out for a few days, if you need anything just give me a call! 555-1776. XO – Alex_ ”

Sure enough, there was Aaron’s key on the floor next to the door. Aaron was momentarily stunned. He barely even knew Alex, and certainly hadn’t asked for any of this (had he? He didn’t remember much after he got back to his room…) and he definitely couldn’t pay Alex back. 

He resolved to think about it later, when he felt better. Instead he deposited the note on his desk and carried the bag into the kitchen, where he downed some of the flu meds and heated up soup in the microwave. Thus fortified, he returned to his room for another few days of misery, forgetting about Alex entirely.

///////////////////////

It all came rushing back to him, however, by Friday when he felt well enough to attend class again. Lee had finally showed up, and although Aaron still felt a bit shaky, the return of his roommate was all the convincing he needed to leave.

Aaron packed up his book bag and grabbed the last few slices of bread and headed for the door. Lee ignored him entirely, lying down on his bed and cranking up the volume on his laptop, blaring some band or other that Aaron didn’t know.

He locked the door behind him and grimaced, realizing he could hear Lee’s music from the hall. If he was lucky, Lee would be gone again when he got home that evening from classes. If he was unlucky, Lee would still be there, probably eating the last of Aaron’s soup.

Aaron hustled across the small campus, which was large enough to accommodate roughly 5,000 students. He had chosen this school primarily due to the scholarships he received, and the allure of its prestigious law department. Dr. Washington was renowned for his abilities both in the courtroom and the classroom, and Aaron had been eager to learn from him. 

Of course, things hadn’t really turned out as perfectly as he’d hoped, and that blame he set squarely on the shoulders of Hamilton. For one wonderful year, Aaron had been the star freshman in Washington’s lectures, choosing to take on more major classes than most first years did and succeeding easily in them. But when Aaron was a sophomore, Hamilton had started at the school, and no matter what Aaron did, Washington stopped looking at him. It was as if the whole world had turned its eyes on Hamilton, and never looked away.

But that didn’t mean Aaron couldn’t still learn, and do well. He planned on being a lawyer someday, and a damn good one. No one would stand in the way of that, least of all some upstart underclassman. Even if that upstart underclassman was apparently really nice and took care of sick classmates when he didn’t have to.

Shaking his head, Aaron made it to his first class of the day with plenty of time, and took a seat right at the front. A few other students trickled in, but he kept to himself. He didn’t have any friends in the school, really. He used to hang out with Thomas Jefferson, another law student who, at the age of 23, should have graduated already but for some reason was still hanging out in the undergrad classes. Aaron wasn’t sure, but he thought Jefferson wasn’t as smart as he pretended to be, and was probably still flunking some of the harder law classes…hence his tendency to slouch in, last-minute, and sit in the far back of every lecture. 

Aaron might have continued to at least study with the other man if it hadn’t, once again, been for Hamilton. On Alexander’s first day of class, he wasted no time engaging Jefferson in a long and heated debate on the subject of financial systems, and now the two could hardly speak civilly. Aaron didn’t want to publically pick sides, but secretly he had thought Hamilton made a lot of good points, and Jefferson was just too stubborn to admit he was wrong.

He opened his notebook and looked down at the empty pages. He’d missed almost the whole first week of classes, which didn’t bode well for the rest of the semester. In between his frequent trips to the bathroom, he had emailed all his professors and gotten confirmation that they’d allow him to make up the work, but he already despaired at how much there was to do to catch up.

“Aaron! Hey, Aaron!”

Turning, Aaron saw that Hamilton had just entered the room, looking as harried as always. He rushed to the front and stood next to Aaron’s desk. 

“Hey, you’re here! You look, uh, better! How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine, thanks,” said Aaron, staring up at the other man. “Um, thanks for your help, and for the food and stuff…”

Alex waved his hand. “Don’t even worry about it. I guess you hadn’t gotten around to shopping for the semester yet, huh?”

“Something like that,” mumbled Aaron. “But anyway. Thanks.”

“No problem, dude!” Alex plopped down in the seat next to Aaron and pulled out his own notebook, which looked like it had been dragged through a muddy field and back. “Listen, do you need help catching up?”

Aaron tried to push down the anxiety he felt at that question. “Um, it’s fine, I’ll figure it out, thanks though – ”

Their conversation was interrupted as Dr. Washington entered the room. He strode to the front and set his bag down, eyes resting on the front row. “Mr. Burr, it’s good to see you back in class.” 

“Yessir, glad to be back,” said Aaron, sitting up rigidly straight. 

“I do hope you’re feeling better. Now, you’ve missed quite a lot of notes, so how about you pair with someone to get you up to speed? Alex, would you mind?” Washington directed, his tone final.

Alex nodded eagerly. “Of course, sir! Happy to help.”

“That’s really not necessary – ” Aaron started, but Washington held up a hand.

“I’m sure Alex will be a great help, won’t you?” said Washington, and Alex nodded again. “Good. You two can arrange to meet after class. For now, let’s get to it.”

The rest of the class was a blur for Aaron. He was overwhelmed with the amount he had missed, but took as many notes as humanly possible to study later. 

When the two hour lecture was finally over, he stared down at the pages, daunted. Washington’s classes were never easy, and this one was clearly no different. 

“Sooo, Aaron, when are you free?” Alex asked as he packed up his backpack. “I’ve got two more classes today, back to back, but I’m free after 4. This class meets again Monday, so we can meet over the weekend if you prefer. Or we can meet more than once, if you want. Up to you!”

Aaron sighed. He really didn’t want to spend any extra time with Hamilton, no matter how nice the other man was being. But, Washington had said to…

“Aaron? You feeling okay? Are you gonna puke again?” Alex was staring at him worriedly.

Aaron shook his head. “I’m fine. I’m free at 5 tonight. Where do you want to meet?” 

“Awesome! How about the library? I’ll meet you right outside?” Alex asked.

“Yeah, that’s fine. See you then, Hamilton,” Aaron said, heading for the exit before Alexander could say any more.

He missed the long look Alex shot after him.

///////////////////////

The rest of the day passed quickly for Aaron. He had five classes this semester and three of them were on Fridays, and all three were major classes. Luckily Alex was only present in the first, although that meant Aaron had to find two other people to give him the notes he’d missed. At least they weren’t Washington’s classes, and therefore easier workloads. 

When he finally finished at 4:50pm, he hurried straight to the library. Hopefully he could get the notes from Alex and get home quickly. He still felt very tired, a deep ache from the days spent unwell in bed. Of course, restful sleep with Lee hanging around was unlikely…

“Hey Aaron!” 

Hamilton was already waiting for Aaron when he arrived, looking as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as he had at 10am that morning. 

“Hi,” Aaron said. “Shall we?”

They found a study room quite easily, as Friday afternoon of the first week of school wasn’t a prime study time for most students. Aaron idly wondered if he was keeping Alex from doing something fun and most likely obnoxious with his little group of friends.

“So I’ve got the notes from Washington’s class, but I forgot to mention that I’m TA’ing his Tuesday-Thursday class, which you’re also in, I believe?” said Alex as they settled in.

Aaron looked up sharply. A TA position for any of Washington’s classes was a highly coveted position, and almost always went to seniors.

Hamilton was a _sophomore_. 

_Yeah yeah, and life isn’t fair. Don’t reveal how you feel. Jealousy isn’t becoming,_ thought Aaron, quelling his disbelief.

“Yes, I’m in that class too. Thank you for your help,” he said mechanically. 

Alex looked at him hesitantly, but at Aaron’s expectant look he moved on. 

“So here are the notes from Monday…”

Aaron swallowed down his pride, and studiously listened to the man next to him. When he didn’t think about it too hard, he found he didn’t mind the sound of Alexander’s voice.

///////////////////////

It was 8pm by the time Aaron made it back home. He hadn’t meant to spend so long with Hamilton, but there really were a ton of notes to go over, and Alex’s propensity for long-winded tangents didn’t help. Aaron was exhausted by the end of their study session, but he felt a little better about his situation. He still had a lot to do to catch up, and it was a bit galling to be tutored, so to speak, by a sophomore – and one who had _stolen the TA position from him_ – but Aaron couldn’t deny that Hamilton knew his stuff. They’d agreed to meet after Monday’s classes to make sure Aaron was sufficiently caught up.

Aaron could hear from the hallway that Lee was definitely home when he arrived. He planned to just leave the other man alone and go about his business, but what he found when he opened the door made him stop short.

Everything from Aaron’s side of the room was strewn about the floor. His clothes had been dumped out of his wardrobe, his sheets ripped off his bed, and all the drawers of his desk had been pulled open and rifled through. Aaron swallowed the lump in his throat and turned to Lee, who was sitting at his own desk, casually daring him to speak first.

“Lee,” said Aaron. He knew what was coming; this wasn’t the first time he’d come home to this destruction. “Give it back.”

Lee smirked. “Or what?”

Aaron’s fists clenched. “I’ll tell someone.”

Lee laughed. “You say that every time, and you never have. Stop being a punk bitch and clean up your side of the room. It’s a mess.”

Aaron held his gaze, but his resolve only lasted for a moment. “It’s not even worth anything…” 

Lee stood up abruptly and strode over to Aaron, who froze. 

“Listen here, asswipe,” Lee growled, looking down at the younger man. “You’re a snot-nosed kid who doesn’t belong here. I can do whatever I want, and you can shut the hell up and deal with it. And if you whine to a single person that boohoo, big bad Charlie keeps taking your inhaler, I’ll kick your ass so hard you’ll never need to breathe again. Got it?”

Aaron stared up at Lee, willing with every fiber of his being to not betray his fear. Silently, he nodded.

“Good,” grunted Lee, backing down and returning to his desk. He opened his laptop and began to type, finally leaving Aaron alone. 

_Life won’t always suck this much_ , thought Aaron to himself, as he shakily began to clean up. _And if it does, well…life’s short, anyway._

///////////////////////

Life wasn’t always this way for Aaron. Granted, his childhood had been shittier than most, growing up in group homes and foster families where he bounced around with no sense of stability. His parents had died when he was very young, his sister Sally only a few years older, and with no one to look after them they soon were made wards of the state of New York, and consistently split up by their placements. Both highly intelligent children, they managed to keep in touch, mailing coded letters to each other that spoke of neglect and feelings of abandonment and loss and unhappiness that most children outside the system never knew. 

Sally was the first to skip a grade. Her teachers in middle school recognized her outspokenness and disobedience as symptoms of boredom and untapped potential, and moved her up a year, directly into high school. She graduated with honors at 16, started university at 17 and blasted through a mechanical engineering major at MIT that often sent other students into mental breakdowns. 

She got a good job and an apartment in Boston after graduation, and suddenly Aaron had somewhere to go during his summers off from school. She refused to file for any sort of custody rights, however, and Aaron never pressed the issue. They may have shared blood, but beyond their childhood letters and aptitude for education, they didn’t have much else in common. 

Aaron was six years her junior and much more philosophically minded. In a different life, with a different upbringing, he may have pursued a career in philosophy or religion, but his hard-learned life lessons had turned him away from what he viewed as “soft” majors. Besides, law suited him just fine, even if Dr. Washington thought Hamilton was a better student than he. 

Which was impossible, obviously. Washington was just playing favorites. Hamilton couldn’t be a better student than Aaron, nor a smarter one. Aaron had outdone his sister by skipping two grades, not just one. He had the good fortune of attending some of the same schools she had growing up, and many of his teachers recognized the Burr intelligence much earlier in him than she. So he was moved up twice, once in grade school and once in middle school, and thus entered university at the shockingly young age of 16, a fact which he had successfully kept hidden from everyone.

Well, almost everyone.

Charles Lee had found out. Aaron wasn’t sure how, but he suspected that as the RD, Conway had access to personal files on students, or at least access to someone who did. Conway must have told Lee, because Lee seemed to know from the first day he met Aaron. And he was not nice about it. Aaron wasn’t sure what he had ever done to set Lee off, but Lee seemed to hate him from the moment they met. He would talk down to Aaron, belittle him for his age, his accomplishments, his lack of friends and family. But Aaron grew up in the system, and he could handle all of that; bullying was nothing new to an orphan. No, the worst thing that Lee did to make Aaron’s life a living hell was steal his inhaler. 

Aaron’s asthma had plagued him since he was a child. It usually wasn’t a big deal; the attacks had grown much less frequent as the years went by, but whenever he fell ill or exercised a lot, they would return full force. And Lee, for whatever reason, thought it was hugely entertaining to steal the one thing that could keep Aaron breathing normally. 

Aaron didn’t presume to know why Lee did this, other than some cruel sense of superiority over the younger student, but he learned to keep his inhaler on his person at all times, and hidden while he was in his dorm. That didn’t stop Lee from searching his things for it, and after the first few times, he hadn’t found it…until now. Aaron had completely forgotten it at home in the wake of his stomach flu, and now it was God knows where, never to return.

He had thought about turning Lee in to the administration, and had almost done it after the first time. Somehow, Conway must have figured what Aaron would do, because he had stopped the student in the hall. 

“Mr. Burr,” he had called, making Aaron pause on his way to the library.

“Yes?” 

Conway had slowly stalked toward Aaron, his hands in his pockets and his shoulders slumped in a deceptively casual stance. “I’ve heard about you.”

“You have?” said Aaron cagily. He recognized the RD after a minute, although he had just moved into the dorm.

Conway nodded. “I understand you’re a scholarship student, is that correct?”

“Yeah, it is,” said Aaron. “Can I help you with something?”

“I think you can,” Conway smirked. “I know you’re rooming with your floor’s RA, Charles Lee. I just wanted to impress upon you the importance of obeying the school and dorm rules, as breaking any of them could very easily lead to the loss of your scholarship.”

Aaron’s brow furrowed. “Yes, I’m aware.”

“Good, good,” Conway continued. “That includes any and all rules set down by Charles Lee. Like all the RAs, he has my full support when it comes to managing his hall.”

He stepped closer to Aaron, peering directly down at the man.

“So if you have any issues with Mr. Lee, I strongly suggest you bring them to me, and no one else, lest there be…unfortunate consequences for your academic career. Is that clear, Mr. Burr?”

“Yes,” Aaron said quietly. “I understand.”

That was the first and only interaction Aaron had with Conway. He never needed any further clarification.

///////////////////////

It took two weeks before Aaron completely caught up with all his classes, but eventually he settled into the flow of the semester. He was immediately weighed down with all the coursework, and spent most of his time studying in the library. Lee spent the next few weeks constantly at home, or so it seemed to Aaron, so he tried to only return to the dorm to sleep.

He was also being very careful with his health, avoiding anyone with so much as a sniffle. He would eventually have to carve some money from his meager grocery budget to buy another inhaler, but he was putting that off for as long as possible. 

In the meantime, he just focused on his classes. Dr. Washington was unrelenting with his workload, and it seemed to Aaron that all the students in his classes looked constantly stressed, even though the term had barely started. 

All except one: Alexander Hamilton.

Who also now seemed to think that Aaron was his _friend_. 

It wasn’t a subtle change. Hamilton didn’t do subtle. Which Aaron learned all too well when Alexander began sitting next to him in class, animatedly chatting about everything under the sun, and asking Aaron questions without ever pausing to hear Aaron answer. He waved at Aaron anytime he ran into him on campus, which Aaron had a sinking suspicion was more and more often. He wasn’t particularly bothered by any of this, as Alexander didn’t seem to expect anything besides a smile in return.

Until the day Alexander dragged him to meet up with the rest of his little squad.

Aaron was doing homework in what had become his corner of the library one Saturday, about a month into the semester. He often spent his weekends in the library or, on nicer afternoons, in one of the quieter outdoor study benches around campus. But more often than not, he stayed holed up at his little table, far from any entrances or main walkways. 

Which is why hearing a sudden influx of giggling and chatter immediately caught his attention.

Moments later, Alexander and his equally obnoxious crew appeared. Hercules Mulligan, John Laurens, and Lafayette all followed, each one looking for all the world like they had never stepped into a library before. Aaron sighed, set his pen down, and resigned himself to the inevitable.

“Aaron!” Alexander shouted, then looked around sheepishly. “Oops, my bad, library and all. But hi!”

Aaron just raised an eyebrow, and nodded to the group.

“Sooo what are you up to?” continued Alexander.

“Homework, Hamilton. I’m doing my homework.”

Hamilton nodded as if enlightened, raising his eyebrows at Laurens, who snorted and shook his head.

“Right, yeah, homework, that’s cool,” wheedled Hamilton. “But like, it’s the weekend. And not even Sunday, it’s, you know, Saturday.”

“I’m aware of what day it is,” said Aaron. “Do you have a point?”

“Well…” Hamilton started, but Hercules groaned.

“You ever seen Parks and Rec?” Hercules asked Aaron. 

“Uh, yeah,” Aaron said. In actuality it was one of his favorite shows, and he smiled to himself as his mind made an instant connection between Alexander and the obsessively ambitious Leslie Knope.

“Cool, remember the Treat Yourself episode when Donna and Tom were headed to the mall and saw Ben all alone on a bench eating soup?” Hercules continued. “That’s you.”

“I’m Ben…?”

“No, you’re eating soup on a bench alone,” said Hercules, one eyebrow raised.

Aaron stared. “I’m doing homework.”

“No, you’re eating soup. On a bench. Alone,” Hercules gestured around them to the empty library. “And now you’re coming with us.”

“I am?”

“Come on, it’s Saturday! There’s so much to do! There’s plenty of time to write later, let’s go out!” Alexander said excitedly. He began to gather up Aaron’s things, closing books and stacking papers.

“Hold on, wait! What – that’s my book, not a library book – give me my pen!” 

“You need a break, mon ami!” Lafayette laughed, pulling Aaron up and out of his chair.

“Alex always talks about you but you’re never around, so let’s go do something, together,” said John with a grin.

And so Aaron suddenly became part of what he referred to (mostly) affectionately, but always internally as the Hamsquad.

///////////////////////

For about a month, Aaron found himself actually looking forward to the Hamsquad’s shenanigans. Alexander always seemed delighted to see him, which was a first for Aaron, and he couldn’t deny the pleasant warm feeling that accompanied seeing Alex’s smile. 

He tried not to think about that too hard.

Sometimes he thought the others noticed, too, but no one said anything. He didn’t doubt they’d be quick to drop him as soon as he wasn’t of interest to Alex, but he was content to enjoy the experience for now. And, well, maybe it helped ease the loneliness, just a little bit. Who knew that having friends could actually improve his performance in his classes, simply by providing support and a way to relax? He was starting to realize that the deep pit in his stomach that had constantly plagued him since childhood wasn’t normal, wasn’t something he had to just learn to live with, but rather it was an indication of something missing. He had never known there was something that could fill that void, but now, spending time with people who actually seemed to like him, who sort of maybe wanted him around and enjoyed his company and sought him out, he suddenly started to feel…happy.

It was exhilarating, and utterly terrifying. Because what would happen when they eventually abandoned him?

///////////////////////

Aaron started to find out, almost immediately. He came out of class one Wednesday in early October and checked his phone to see four missed calls from Sally and one voicemail. He held up a finger to Hamilton, who was chatting non-stop as always, and listened to it.

“ _Hey. You didn’t answer so just wanted to let you know that I got married. He’s great. We’re moving out to California in a few weeks. Our new place is really small, not big enough for guests. I’m sure you understand. So…this is goodbye I guess. Sorry…just thought I should let you know. See you in another life, brother._ ”

Well, Aaron couldn’t say he was surprised, but it still hurt more than he expected. He figured his relationship with Sally wasn’t ever going to be like that of real siblings, and he should probably be grateful she even let him know before she left, but…

Still. It sucked. 

Aaron looked up to see Alex had stopped talking and was looking at him warily. 

“Is everything okay?”

Aaron nodded and dredged up a forced smile. “Yeah, yeah. Yes. It’s nothing. Just my sister. She’s fine.” 

“You sure?” Alex asked.

“Yes, definitely. What were you saying?” 

And that was all it took for Alex to grin and get started again on some rant or another. Aaron took a deep breath and tried to focus on something besides the deepening pit in his stomach. It was okay. Everything would be okay. It had to be.

///////////////////////

Sally’s departure from his life had a surprisingly big impact on Aaron’s mood. Sure, they’d never been close, but she was still the only family he had, and to drop him just like that…well, it hurt more than he wanted to admit.

So Aaron did what he always did when things hurt, and that was throw himself into his studies. Despite his newfound friendship with Hamilton, Aaron still found himself resenting the attention Alex got from the professors, especially Dr. Washington. It seemed no matter how hard Aaron worked, no matter how many high scores he received on papers and tests, Alex still stole the limelight time and time again. Dr. Washington would constantly pick Alex over Aaron to answer questions, or ask Alex to pass out papers, or give extra credit to Alex for his work. Aaron never got any extra credit. He didn’t really need it, true, but he doubted Alex did either. It was beyond galling.

“Hey Aaron! Ready for the midterm next week?”

Aaron stopped just outside Dr. Washington’s classroom, but didn’t turn around. “Yes, Alex. I’m ready. I’ve done nothing but study for it the last week.”

“I know,” Alex said with a pout as he caught up to Aaron. “I’ve invited you out like, four times and you keep saying no. You’re gonna do fine, you know.”

“Yes I will!” snapped Aaron, turning around. 

Alex stared back.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap. Just, stressed, you know.”

“Right…sorry.”

Aaron nodded tightly and took the opportunity to flee into the classroom, making sure to sit right at the front. He didn’t look again at Hamilton, who spent more of the lesson looking at Aaron than the lecturer.

///////////////////////

October came and went. Aaron briefly caught a cold and cursed his notoriously weak immune system as he sniffled and sneezed through his classes. One particular class, he sneezed six times in a row, causing Dr. Washington to pause his lecture.

“Mr. Burr, are you all right?”

Aaron, burning with embarrassment, missed the concern in Dr. Washington’s voice. He nodded and slid down in his seat and bolted the moment class ended. Alex looked around for him after, to offer some help or at least some tissues, but Aaron was long gone.

///////////////////////

November ticked by and Aaron felt he had slowly but steadily balanced out his deep anxiety about his sister and his future and his classes, but it was definitely at the expense of being friends with Alex and his buddies. 

This definitely wasn’t his plan all along. He reasoned with himself that he didn’t sabotage anything, of course not, not on _purpose_ …

Well. Maybe the idea of being close with someone and sharing the difficulties of his life was a bit scary. Just a bit. But he had other, more important things to worry about. 

Like…Lee. The bane of Aaron’s existence who had stolen three more inhalers off him this semester alone, and Aaron was at his wit’s end with trying to replace them on the cheap. Between that and his general anxiety about the upcoming holidays, he was barely sleeping, preferring to stay up and study or think about exams, his budget, and definitely not Hamilton and the sad looks he still shot him every time their eyes met. It wasn’t just Hamilton, either. He rarely ran into Lafayette or Hercules, but sometimes he’d see John in passing and get a similar look, albeit a bit harder and disappointed. Aaron usually just hurried on and pretended not to notice. It was easier that way, he told himself. No need to drag anyone else into his messes. They were nice, but he didn’t need them. Or Sally. Or anyone. 

But he really did have an issue on his hands about the upcoming term break. He had nowhere to go, and no place to stay as the campus closed entirely for the three weeks of Christmas holidays. Usually he’d stay with Sally, but…clearly that wasn’t an option this time. And he certainly wasn’t one to beg someone to have him.   
It was with great trepidation and regret that he waiting in his room for Lee to return home one evening. 

“Can I talk to you?” Aaron said, quietly.

Lee stared at him, probably for having the audacity to speak in his presence. “The fuck do you want?”

Aaron cleared his throat and resolved his nerves. “I have nowhere to go over break. I want you to talk to Conway and ask him to let me stay here. On the downlow. I can’t pay him but I’ll clean, or do his homework, or whatever he wants.”

“You have some nerve asking me for a favor and not even offering me anything in return,” Lee crossed his arms. “What’s in it for me? Why should I give a shit what happens to you?”

Aaron sighed, but he had expected as much. “I’ll do your work for you too. Until summer. And then I’ll disappear and you’ll never see me again.”

“Now _that_ is a tempting offer,” grinned Lee. “What I wouldn’t give not to see your little twerp face every time I come back here…fine, I’ll talk to Conway. I’m not promising anything. I expect you to at least do my work the rest of the term in return for me talking to him for you. Be grateful I’m not asking for more.” 

And with that Lee turned on his stereo and turned the music up full blast, ending the conversation. Aaron sighed with relief that the conversation hadn’t turned into something worse. And now, he probably had somewhere to stay for break. 

///////////////////////

A new problem arose at the end of November, however, and it was one that Aaron had definitely not seen coming. Lee was quite frequently absent from the one class he had with Aaron and Alex, one of Dr. Washington’s. It was required for Lee’s political science major and he usually just pretended Aaron didn’t exist when they both did attend at the same time. 

Alex, however, was a different story entirely. He often butted heads with Lee, disagreeing with everything from Lee’s politics to Lee’s attitude towards the other students. Aaron kept his head down during all their disagreements, as Dr. Washington usually put a stop to it the second it started to get out of hand. Which was quite quickly with Alex involved, but he had a stern respect for the professor and always shut up when Dr. Washington intervened.

After Aaron stopped hanging with Alex, however, Alex’s disagreements with Lee got worse. Much worse. Instead of just arguing over topics related to the lecture, Alex slowly took to making spitting comments about Lee’s person, and Lee returned in kind. Aaron wasn’t sure why the shift occurred, although he sometimes did see Alex send him reproachful looks after a bad fight, as if he expected Aaron to do something about.

Well, Hamilton wasn’t his friend, and neither was Lee. Aaron didn’t have any stake in this rivalry. Instead, he kept his head down, as always.

///////////////////////

At the beginning of December, Aaron was starting to get nervous. He’d been doing Lee’s homework for two weeks and hadn’t heard Conway’s response, and break was only a week away. He didn’t have any money to go anywhere else, so if this didn’t work out…

Well. He tried not to think about it. 

He also had started feeling sick again. He wasn’t sure if it was another cold or if it was just anxiety manifesting itself physically, but he struggled to pay attention to his studying and he constantly had a headache. But there wasn’t much he could do about it, he reasoned, he had to get through finals and hopefully once everyone was gone he’d be able to get some peace and quiet…if Conway came through for him…

Finally, on Thursday, Lee came home and Aaron was sat there, waiting, stewing in his own anxiety. 

“Conway says you can stay. You’ll clean all the common areas and do his work all next term. And you won’t tell a single soul about it, or else. Understood?”

Aaron nodded quickly. “Understood. Thank you.”

Lee just stared at him for a second longer. “Shut up. You’re fucking pathetic.”

Aaron couldn’t even disagree. 

///////////////////////

Friday was less nerve-wracking for Aaron, now that he knew he had a plan for the break. But he was starting to feel even more sick, which he didn’t think he could attribute to stress. He usually didn’t pay much attention to the goings-on of the dorm, but he vaguely recalled several people on his floor coming down with pneumonia in the last few weeks. He wasn’t even sure if pneumonia was contagious, but with his luck, he’d get it anyway. 

He only had one more exam to get through before he could finally relax. Unfortunately, it was for the class he shared with Lee and Alex. The two had fought viciously earlier in the week, and it had nearly come to blows. Aaron had just sat there silently and stared, wishing with all his soul he was somewhere else as Alex turned to him and demanded he step in, pleading with his eyes for Aaron to stand by his side. 

But Aaron hadn’t, he had just sat there like a coward and waited for Dr. Washington to pull the two apart. As always. 

He sighed. Nothing to be done now, just get through the last final and then rest. Hopefully Lee would be gone soon for the break and Aaron would have basically the entire campus to himself. 

Aaron grabbed his phone, pencils, and key and left, stopping briefly in the bathroom to blow his nose, which seemed to be perpetually runny these days. He popped a few painkillers on his way out the door, knowing they would never be enough but they’d get him through the test. 

As he left the dorm, he saw Lee and Conway walking a short distance ahead of him. He stayed carefully back so they wouldn’t notice him, but as he and Lee were headed towards the same final, he couldn’t exactly alter course. 

He kept his head down until he heard Conway laugh. It was dark and full of malice, the way he always imagined Cinderella’s wicked stepmother laughed. Against his better judgement, he sped up a tiny bit, just enough to get within hearing distance of the two.

“Seriously? You’re gonna finally do it?”

“Hell yeah man,” said Lee. “Fucker has it coming.”

“Can’t argue with that,” laughed Conway. “When?”

“After this last final,” Lee said with a smirk. “Hamilton won’t see it coming. I’ll grab some of the others in the class who don’t like him and we’ll show him how to shut up, once and for all.”

Aaron breathed in sharply. Lee was planning to jump Alex after the final. With help! And Conway, an RD, wasn’t even going to do anything about it!

Before Aaron could think his actions through, he ran forward to catch up with the two. He barged past Conway and planted himself firmly in front of Lee, who was a good four or five inches taller than him and a great deal heavier, but Aaron didn’t think about that. 

“Don’t you dare touch Alex,” Aaron said fiercely.

Lee looked shocked. “And what the fuck do you think you’re gonna do about it, freak?”

Aaron didn’t dignify that with a verbal response. Instead, he did something he had never done before in his life.

He cocked his fist back and smashed it into Lee’s nose, hard as he could.

It wasn’t the best in terms of form, but for a first time, Aaron thought it must have been pretty good. Lee looked momentarily shocked, and then he was on the ground, with honest-to-god tears spilling out of his eyes. 

Conway stood stock still for a few seconds, looking between Aaron and Lee. Aaron wasn’t sure what he was going to do, but he knew it couldn’t be good. Aaron’s instincts kicked in and he took off running, paying no attention to where he was going. All thoughts of the final exam were gone from his mind, and he simply ran.


	2. Chapter Two

Aaron didn’t know what to do. His hand hurt like hell, it was getting cold and dark, and Lee was god-knows-where doing god-knows-what but it was almost certainly guaranteed to make Aaron’s life worse. 

Fuck, as if everything wasn’t bad enough, he had to go and act so stupidly, so rashly, so impulsively, so much like fucking _Hamilton_. He knew better than that! He knew not to stick his neck out, nothing had ever gone right for him when he stood up for someone else – it’s not like anyone ever stood up for _him_. 

But still, he knew that if it had happened all over again, he’d do the same thing. When it came to Alexander, Aaron just couldn’t stop himself. He and Hamilton could never be, but Aaron was pretty sure that there was an Alex-sized hole in his stupid chest and a lot of stupid Alex-related emotions that no matter how much he tried to ignore, would be with him always.

Aaron sighed, a deep, heavy sigh that threatened to turn into a sob. He tried to breathe through it, shoving all the whirling emotions back down, down, deep inside. 

Okay. It was getting late. He had wandered the campus for long enough, hoping beyond hope for some miracle to appear, something that would make sense of all the chaos in his brain. But no such revelation had happened, and he knew he should go back home.

Home. To where Lee would most likely be.

Fuck. 

Well, there was nothing else for it. Campus had pretty much cleared out entirely this afternoon, as it was the last day of classes and no one wanted to stick around a second longer than necessary. But Aaron wasn’t sure when Lee was going home, all he knew was that Conway had agreed to let him stay, and that was still the plan. It’s not like he had anywhere else to go, not since Sally’s call…

He shoved all thoughts of his sister as far from his mind as possible. He definitely couldn’t deal with all that right now. 

Coughing, Aaron shook his head, bringing himself back to the present. His head felt sort of fuzzy, as if he hadn’t slept well for a few days, or like he was coming down with the flu. He really hoped not, he had no means to take care of himself right now. Looking around, he realized he was on the far reaches of campus, nearby the main arts building. He turned around and started trudging back towards the heart of campus, fruitlessly rubbing warmth into his arms as he went. 

It took twenty minutes of faltering steps to make it, and Aaron felt more and more lousy with each one. He would give anything to just be in his bed already, curtains drawn, door locked, blankets pulled tight…

Finally, finally, he looked up and saw his dorm, dark and empty without students. He had barely seen anyone around campus at all, which was probably good all things considered. He technically wasn’t supposed to stay on campus during break so the fewer people who saw him hanging around, the better. 

He grabbed the door handle and pulled. Nothing happened. The door remained firmly shut, and Aaron stopped still. He looked blearily down at the handle and saw, with growing horror, that there was a silver, shiny padlock locked tight around the handle. 

Fuck. Double fuck. Triple fuck. What the fuck was he supposed to do now? Leave it to fucking Lee to ruin everything! 

This was all Hamilton’s fault, thought Aaron wildly as he yanked again and again on the locked door. If he hadn’t antagonized Lee, if he hadn’t opened his mouth yet again…

…then what? Lee was out to get Alex, just like he was out to get Aaron. This would have happened sooner or later. And Hamilton didn’t _make_ Aaron punch Lee. Hamilton didn’t even know what happened.

No, all of this is Aaron’s fault. Because he allowed himself to get close to someone, to make friends, to have feelings…

And here he was, stuck outside, in the cold, alone, with no way out. 

He sat down on a concrete bench outside of the dorm. He forced himself to breathe in, and out, steadily, slowly. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about the cold. 

///////////////////

“Aaron!”

Groggily, Aaron registered a voice calling his name. As he slowly emerged from his sleepy haze, he also felt someone shaking him, which was far more annoying.

“Wha?” he mumbled, slowly opening his eyes and rolling over. 

He blinked a few times and immediately scowled at what he saw. It was Alexander, of course, probably the last person he had wanted to find him sleeping on a bench outside his dorm. But even worse, Alex’s entire squad was standing behind him. And they all looked _concerned_.

“Aaron, why are you sleeping outside? Explain this note I found under your keys! Where’s Lee? Did he seriously lock you out? What were you gonna do for the break? You can’t expect to sleep outside for 3 weeks!” The questions spit rapidfire from Alex’s mouth, and Aaron wiped the sleep out of his eyes and struggled to sit up. It was freezing outside; he wasn’t sure how long he’d been asleep, but it had been long enough for his face and hands to feel numb. 

“What happened to your hand?!” Alex exclaimed before Aaron could speak, grabbing Aaron’s bruised and bloody right hand and examining it closely. 

“W-what do you want me t-to answer f-first?” Aaron stuttered, irritated with both the questioning and the fact that he couldn’t seem to get his lips to work right, cold as they were. He tried to pull his hand away but Alex held tight and shot him a glare. 

“Perhaps you could explain this note we found,” Lafayette said, taking the piece of paper from where Alex had dropped it. 

“It’s n-none of your b-business,” Aaron started to say, with as much force as he could muster. But he was starting to feel the cold that had crept into his bones as he slept, and he couldn’t repress the shivers that wracked his body.

Hercules pushed forward and nudged Alex away. He gently yet firmly grabbed Aaron by his uninjured arm and pulled him to a standing position. Aaron wavered briefly, but Hercules’ strong grip held him steady. 

“Save the questions. He needs to get warmed up before he gets sick,” Herc lectured. _Always the mom-friend_ , thought Aaron, smirking to himself briefly. He had almost missed having that concern directed towards himself. 

“I’m f-fine,” Aaron asserted, but he couldn’t stop shivering, and his head was starting to feel dense and foggy. He hoped he wasn’t already getting sick, but it would be par for the course for the shitty week he’d had. 

He missed the disbelieving glances the rest of the group shot at him, and instead allowed – yes, allowed, he could’ve stopped Hercules if he _wanted_ to, it was just that he didn’t care so much right now, that was the _only reason_ – himself to be guided towards John Laurens’ parked car, where he was immediately bundled into the backseat between Hercules and Alex. 

John started the car and Lafayette, now sitting shotgun, cranked the heater up full blast. Alex had taken to examining Aaron’s right hand again and Hercules made sure Aaron was buckled. Normally Aaron would have protested literally everything about this situation, but now that he was sitting in a comfortable seat and his body was surrounded by warmth, he couldn’t help but let his head fall back and his eyes close. 

Despite the hot air, his body still shivered involuntarily at intervals, but with his eyes closed he missed the worried looks Herc and Alex shared over his head. He felt himself drifting and couldn’t bring himself to care. Any other day he would have objected to getting in a car with Alex and his friends, especially if he didn’t know where he was being taken, but…

…

…

…

“Aaron, wake up. C’mon, time to get up.” 

The voice that woke him this time was soft-spoken. He blinked, and saw Alex and Herc leaning over him. He was still sitting in the car, but it was now parked in a garage.

“Where’re we?” He asked sleepily. 

“John’s house. We’re all crashing here over break. Come on, let’s get inside,” Alex explained quickly, still keeping his voice down. 

Aaron nodded, but then his brow furrowed. “Why ‘m I at John’s house?”

Alex huffed. “Just come on, will you? We’ll explain later.”

Aaron couldn’t bring himself to truly care, not in his current mental state. Instead he followed Alex and Hercules out of the car and into the house. He didn’t miss the fact that neither man let go of him once, instead both flanking him and directing him towards the living room. They sat him down on the couch, Alex on one side of him – still holding on to his arm – while Hercules grabbed a soft, fluffy blanket from somewhere and wrapped it around Aaron’s shoulders.

Aaron was starting to feel more awake, and realized his head was pounding and his entire body was still shivering. 

“How are you feeling?” Hercules asked, standing above him with his arms crossed. 

“Like s-shit,” Aaron replied, deciding to be honest. He didn’t feel like facing the larger man’s reputable wrath at this moment. 

Hercules frowned and disappeared into another room. He came back with a first-aid kit. 

“Open up,” he said, holding out a plastic thermometer.

Aaron raised an eyebrow at him, but the stern look on Hercules’ face warned Aaron not to fight him. 

Aaron complied with a sigh, and Hercules watched him carefully until the thermometer beeped. Meanwhile, Alex had pulled out some gauze and Neosporin from the first-aid kit and was wrapping up Aaron’s injured hand. 

“101.2,” Hercules said grimly, looking first at the plastic device and then down at Aaron.

Aaron shivered but stared back defiantly. “Not s-so bad.”

“Really?” Hercules said, unimpressed. “You’ve got a fever, you’re shaking and groggy, pneumonia’s been going around the dorms, and we found you sleeping outside in freezing cold weather. It is, actually, so bad.”

“Is he gonna be okay?” Alex spoke up, sounding just this side of frantic. 

“Of course,” Hercules reassured him, looking fondly at the other man. Much more fondly than he had just been looking at Aaron. “We’re gonna take care of him, Alex, don’t worry.”

“D-do I get a s-say in this?” Aaron asked, but his chattering teeth ruined the effect. 

“No,” they chorused. 

“How is he, doc?” asked John as he entered the room.

“Sick,” said Hercules simply. “Potentially with pneumonia. Is the room set up?”

“Yep,” John said, looking down at Aaron with a serious expression. “I’ve got the last guest room ready, and Laf is making him soup.” 

“W-why’re you h-helping me?” Aaron couldn’t help but ask. Nothing about this situation made any sense, and his pounding, fuzzy head wasn’t helping at all.

“Contrary to what you apparently believe, none of us dislike you,” John shot back. 

“And you really, clearly, need help,” Hercules put in. “You can’t really think we’d leave you alone like this.”

“We’re friends, right?” Alex said, and when Aaron looked at him he could see a heartbreaking amount of hope in Alex’s eyes.

Aaron quickly looked away. “Y-yeah. S-sorry. Not thinking s-straight r-right now.”

“Clearly,” John said with a snort. “It’s all right. You’re obviously pretty out of it. Just eat some soup and then you can go to bed.”

“Th-thanks,” said Aaron. He was still thoroughly confused, but decided to put off thinking about this insane situation for now. It hurt his brain too much.

“I’ve got chicken noodle!” sang Lafayette as he waltzed in, carrying a bowl of soup and a mug of something steaming. 

Hercules grabbed a folding tray from behind the couch and set it up in front of Aaron. Lafayette placed the soup and mug in front of him and, to Aaron’s utter bewilderment, patted Aaron on the head. 

“Eat up, Burr! You look awful!” he said cheerily. 

“C’mon, let’s let him eat,” John said with a smile, tugging Lafayette out of the room. 

“Eat it all,” Hercules threatened before following. 

That left Aaron alone with Alex, who was still staring at him with wide puppy eyes.

“You really do look terrible,” Alex said, handing him a spoon. “Please eat your soup. Laf made you tea, too.”

Aaron nodded, choosing not to take offense at what Alex had said. It was just too much effort to care about anything besides what he was told right now. 

He ate the soup slowly, wary of his shaking left hand. Alex continued to hold on to his right, even though he’d finished bandaging it. As he ate, Alex contented himself to babble about everything; the finals they had just finished, the upcoming holiday break, what classes he was taking next semester, how much of a dick Aaron’s roommate Lee was, etc. 

Aaron let it all wash over him, and realized he didn’t mind Alex’s talking at all. It was almost soothing. He figured Alex didn’t expect him to contribute to the conversation, so he could focus on eating the hot soup and not think about anything besides whatever was coming out of Alex’s mouth.

When he’d finally finished, he looked up and realized that Alex had stopped talking and was staring at him with a serious expression.

“What?” asked Aaron, his voice slurred.

“Nothing,” said Alex. “Let’s get you to bed.”

Alex pulled the tray away and helped Aaron to his feet. Aaron was guided down a hallway and through a doorway into a darkened bedroom. Alex pulled back the blankets on the bed and gently pushed Aaron toward it. 

“You, uh, may want to take off your jacket and jeans,” Alex said apologetically. 

“Oh,” said Aaron, suddenly realizing he was barefoot and didn’t remember taking his shoes off. “Okay.”

Alex helped him strip off his jacket, pulling it gently over his right hand so as not to disturb the bandages. With a resigned sigh, Aaron divested himself of his jeans as quickly as possible. Alex stared purposefully at the floor and waited for Aaron to get in bed before picking up the discarded clothing.

“I’m in the room next door if you need anything,” said Alex. “I’ll check on you later.”

“Um, okay,” said Aaron. “Thanks.”

Alex smiled. “Go to sleep, Aaron.”

///////////////////

When Aaron woke again, he was starving. His entire body ached and his skin felt clammy, but his head felt much clearer than it had before. He had the distant feeling that he’d been asleep for a very long time.

With a small groan, he pushed himself up in bed and took stock of his surroundings. He remembered the events of – was it last night? What time was it? – earlier, when Alex and co. had found him outside the dorm and had taken him back to John Laurens’ house, presumably to stay for the winter break. 

Aaron was thoroughly embarrassed they had found him in such a state, but a small part of him was relieved as well. When he had returned to the dorms and found the entrance padlocked shut, he knew it had been the work of Lee and Conway. 

And truly, Aaron didn’t have anyone to call for help. It had never even occurred to him to ask Alexander. Staking out on the bench for the night had been his only recourse, as it was evening when he had returned and all the on-campus buildings were closed for the holidays. He hadn’t been feeling well for two days, and he hadn’t been thinking straight, resigning to figure out what to do when morning had come. 

_If you had even made it through the night, you idiot_ , he thought to himself. He was clearly in worse shape than he had thought, and should be grateful for Alex’s prying gang.

He had only just begun to examine the oddity of that thought when the door opened and Hercules Mulligan peeked in. 

“Oh good, you’re up,” he said, entering the room fully. “How’re you feeling?”

“Better,” he said, pausing to take stock. “My head’s better and I’m thinking more clearly. But I still don’t feel…good.”

Hercules nodded. “Yeah, because you probably have pneumonia. Do you feel achy? Hot? Clammy?”

Aaron nodded. “All of those things.”

“Here, let’s take your temperature again,” Hercules said, offering up the thermometer. He let Aaron put it in his mouth on his own this time, but still watched him carefully for the duration.

“100.4,” Hercules declared when it beeped. “Still high. Better, probably because you got some sleep and fluids, but you’re definitely still sick.”

Aaron nodded. “Thanks. Sorry.”

“What’re you sorry for?” Herc shot him an odd look. “You’re sick, it’s not your fault.”

“Sorry for making you guys take care of me,” Aaron clarified, looking away. “I’m sure you had plans for the break that didn’t involve this.”

“Oh my God,” Hercules groaned. “Just stop, okay? It’s fine. We are not in any way upset that you got sick and need help. Just please, don’t talk like that in front of Alex. He’d probably cry.”

Aaron stared at him. “Um, okay.”

“Good,” Hercules said sternly. “Now, I’ve got some pajamas here for you to change into, and then maybe you’d like to get out of bed and come hang out in the living room?”

Aaron realized just how uncomfortable he was lying in warm, sweaty sheets in only his boxers and a t-shirt. The couch sounded great.

Hercules left him alone to change, and came back to escort him to the living room. Aaron tried to protest that he was fine on his own, but Hercules told him that “people with fevers don’t get opinions” and continued to hold onto his arm. 

The living room was much brighter than his room, and Aaron immediately squinted and put a hand to his face. The others were there already, and Alex was quick to jump up and turn the light off. 

“Sorry Aaron!” he said quickly. “Forgot for a second. Sit down, it’s okay.”

Aaron blinked and his eyes adjusted. Hercules guided him to the couch and sat him down between Alex and Lafayette. John was in an armchair by the window, and Hercules sat in another one by the door. 

“His fever is slightly down but he’s definitely still sick,” Hercules said preemptively. 

“Thanks for letting me stay,” Aaron said to John.

“Course,” the other man said with a wave of his hand. “D’you remember last night at all?”

Aaron nodded. “Yeah, it’s a bit hazy, but I mostly remember.”

“Then you’ll remember when I said we all like you, so stop worrying so much,” John said. “Got it?”

“I believe what you said was none of you _dis_ like me,” Aaron smiled humorlessly. “That’s a bit different.”

“Ugh, you know what I mean!” John threw his hands up. “Guys, back me up here?”

“We all like you, Aaron!” Alex jumped in quickly. “I wish you would’ve called me when you got sick, I know you have my number, we would’ve helped!”

“You already helped,” Aaron mumbled. “Thank you. All of you.”

“We do like you, Burr,” Lafayette put in, pressing closer to Aaron and pinching his cheek. 

Aaron ducked his head. “I’m starting to get that, thanks.”

“So how’d you hurt your hand?” asked Alex, grabbing Aaron’s bandaged hand to take a closer look at it. 

Aaron sighed. He knew this story would come out sooner or later, he had just hoped it would be later. “I punched Lee.”

Everyone turned to stare at him.

“You _what_?” exclaimed John, eyes wide.

“Fuck yeah!” Alex crowed. “Go Aaron!”

“What happened? I thought you guys were friends!” said Hercules.

Aaron shook his head. “No, he’s an asshole. But he was the only guy on our floor willing to room – I mean, who needed a roommate too, so we just ended up together.” 

“So he locked you out, right? That’s what his note said,” Alex asked. “We read it, sorry. You were passed out on a bench so I read the note.”

Aaron rolled his eyes. Of course Alex would do that. “Yeah, he locked me out. Conway agreed to let me stay in the dorm over break, even though no one is supposed to. But he and Lee are buddies, and after I punched Lee, they must’ve padlocked it shut so that I couldn’t get back in. I…didn’t have anywhere else to go. And I wasn’t feeling well, or thinking straight, so I just kinda sat down on the bench and, well, you know the rest.”

“I have just so many questions,” Alex said, dropping Aaron’s hand and settling in close to him. “Why did you punch Lee at all? Why weren’t you going anywhere over the break? Why didn’t you call anyone after you got locked out?”

“I don’t have anywhere to go over the break, Alex,” said Aaron through gritted teeth. “You know I don’t have any family.”

“What’ve you done over other breaks? And summer?” Lafayette asked gently, shooting a reproving look at Alex. 

“The university offers summer housing,” Aaron pointed out. “And I used to stay with my sister Sally over the breaks. But we were never very close, and she got married during last semester and moved out to California. She…made it clear that she no longer had space for me to crash.”

“Your own sister wouldn’t let you stay with her?” said John incredulously. 

“We. Aren’t. Close,” Aaron repeated, a sharp edge to his words. “We didn’t even live in the same foster homes growing up. We just happen to share parents, nothing else.”

“But WHY did you punch Lee?!” Alex cried impatiently. “I have to know! You have to tell me! I wish I could have seen it!”

Aaron took a deep breath and met Alexander’s gaze. “Because of you.”

Alex’s jaw dropped. “What do you mean, because of me?”

“Remember how you guys were arguing in class last week? And Dr. Washington had to break you up?” Aaron said. “Well, yesterday morning I heard him telling Conway that he was going to get some guys and jump you after the last final. I told him he better not, and he asked me what I was going to do about it, so I punched him. That's why I missed the final, I ran before Conway could come after me.”

There was silence as everyone stared at Aaron. 

“Turns out Lee’s all talk, because it only took one hit for him to go down,” Aaron shrugged modestly. “He cried and everything.”

Alex was looking at Aaron with an uncomfortable amount of reverence. 

“You are my hero,” Alex said, awed. “My honest-to-God hero. I love you, Aaron Burr.”

“Um,” said Aaron. 

Alex flung his arms around Aaron, hugging him tightly. “I’m not kidding. I love you. You punched Charles Lee! For _me_!” 

“I have to say, I’m impressed,” John said, shaking his head. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“I take back all those times I said you were the worst,” said Lafayette grandly. “Because you are clearly the best.”

“You were fighting people while you were sick?” said Hercules disapprovingly. 

“I didn’t know I was sick,” Aaron said defensively.

“Well, good job,” said Hercules. “But next time, tell me instead.”

“So you can fight him?” asked Aaron.

“No, because I’m an RA,” Hercules reminded him. “I can take care of him. With _rules_. If there is a next time.”

“I don’t know, you should’ve seen him cry,” smirked Aaron. “He’s probably afraid now.” 

“I love you so much, you don’t even _know_ ,” Alex exclaimed into Aaron’s shoulder. Then he abruptly pulled back. “You’re still, like, really, really feverish.”

“I know,” said Aaron, slumping back onto the couch. “I feel like shit. What time is it?”

“Noon,” John said, standing up. “We made more soup, I’m sure you’re hungry.”

He disappeared into what Aaron assumed was the kitchen. Hercules set up a tray in front of Aaron. Alex was still staring at Aaron with shining eyes. 

“Aren’t you all worried about getting sick?” he asked, looking pointedly at Alex and Lafayette, who were both touching him with no hint of reticence.

“Nah, whatever,” Alex shook his head. “I never get sick.”

“I trust dear Hercules to watch over me should that happen,” Lafayette said, with a wink at his older friend. 

“I don’t know what you knuckleheads would do without me,” Hercules rolled his eyes. “Die, probably.” 

“They probably would,” Aaron agreed.

“You’re one of those knuckleheads!” Hercules exclaimed. “Don’t think I’ll ever forget how you tried to die on a bench instead of calling us for help. You’re in for it, now.”

Aaron looked at him nervously. “In for what?”

“Congratulations, you’ve been adopted by Hercules Mulligan,” Alex piped up with a wide grin. “He’s a strict mother, but we love him anyway.”

“I didn’t ask for this,” said Aaron with a groan.

“Well I didn’t ask to be blessed with more brains than all y’all combined, and yet here we are,” said Hercules, crossing his arms and looking down at them knowingly. “Now shut up and rest, John should be bringing more soup in a minute and you should conserve your strength.”

No one would ever accuse Aaron of not knowing when to quit, so shut up he did. It helped that his head still felt very heavy, and it was feeling like quite a lot of effort to move at all. A few minutes later John reappeared with soup and tea, just like the night before, which Aaron ate slowly while the others chatted around him. Eventually the large TV was turned on and Aaron idly watched the colors move as he zoned out and focused on his soup.

“John, can I borrow the car for a bit?” Hercules asked once Aaron had finished. “I’m gonna go down to the dorms and get his stuff.” 

“ _My_ stuff?” asked Aaron, tuning back in to the conversation.

“Yeah, take it,” John said, lobbing the keys to his friend.

“I’ll help you!” Lafayette leapt up from the couch. 

“Thanks, Laf,” said Hercules, getting up as well. “Don’t worry about it, Aaron, we’ll be back in a bit. Anything in particular you want us to grab, besides clothes?”

“My laptop,” said Aaron immediately. “Also my inhaler. It’s hidden under some notebooks in the bottom drawer of my desk.”

Hercules leveled him a serious look. “Does it often…go missing?”

Aaron shrugged and didn’t meet his gaze. “Sometimes.” 

Hercules just shook his head and mumbled something that Aaron couldn’t hear before heading back towards the door.

“How’re you gonna get past the padlock?” Aaron called after him.

“Oh, don’t worry about that, little Burr!” Lafayette sang as he stood. He patted Aaron one last time on the head and bounded after Hercules.  
Aaron heard the garage door open and the car start. He looked back at Alex and John who had already turned their attention to the TV, which was apparently airing a Parks and Recreation marathon. He sighed and settled back into the couch, content to let the noise and light wash over him. After a few minutes, he started to feel very relaxed, despite the achiness set deep in his bones.

It only took two episodes before he drifted off back to sleep. He slumped over on the couch, head resting on Alex’s shoulder. He didn’t notice the glowing smile on Alex’s face as he sat, perfectly still, trying so very hard not to dislodge Aaron. 

///////////////////

Hercules and Lafayette arrived at the campus and found it just as empty as they expected. Of course, it wouldn’t be just them for very long. Lafayette had barely kept in his laughter as he listened to Hercules make calls on speaker during the short drive back to campus.

The two waited patiently in front of their sophomore/junior dorm. In one hand Hercules held his phone, and in the other, a pair of boltcutters. Lafayette held only a wad of empty canvas bags. 

They didn’t have to wait long. About ten minutes after their arrival, Angelica and Eliza Schuyler walked up from the nearby parking lot. Besides being the daughters of the university's president, Angelica was a talented journalism major and a personal friend of Hercules. 

“This better be good, Mulligan,” said Angelica mulishly, although the gleam in her eyes betrayed her excitement at this unknown drama she had been called to witness. “What’s going on? Why was it so important that I come down here on my break?”

“Hello Angelica, Eliza,” said Hercules politely. “Thanks for coming. We’re just waiting on Mrs. Washington, now.” 

The gleam in Angelica’s eyes intensified. “Martha Washington? Why is she coming?”

“And why is there a padlock on the dorm?” Eliza asked sharply.

“Tis a long story, one which we plan to regale you with once Mrs. Washington has arrived,” Lafayette said sweetly.

“And now that I’m here, you can get on with it,” said another voice. The four students turned and saw Mrs. Washington, briskly walking up the path in a large overcoat and galoshes. 

“Hello, Mrs. Washington,” said Hercules with a wide smile. “Thanks for listening when I called. It’s a matter of student safety.”

“What’s going on?” she asked, not unkindly.

Hercules cleared his throat. “Last night, on our way back to the dorm to pick up John Laurens’ car from the lot, me and my friends – that is, Lafayette, Alex Hamilton, and John – came across Aaron Burr, sleeping on this bench right here.”

He tapped the boltcutters against the stone bench right outside the dorm entrance. It looked frozen solid, just like the ground around it.

“The entrance to the dorm was padlocked shut, and upon further inspection we found a note, addressed to Aaron, from his roommate Charles Lee,” Hercules continued. Lafayette pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and held it aloft. 

“This note was absolutely disgusting,” Lafayette said with a shake of his head. “Hercules, would you read it, please?”

Hercules glanced significantly at his audience to make sure they were all paying attention. Angelica had pulled out a Moleskine notebook and was furiously writing. Hercules began to read.

“ _Burr,  
You’re lucky I didn’t turn you into the cops for that shit you pulled today, but you’re not worth my time. Your deal with Conway to stay in the dorm this break is hereby revoked. And don’t even think about coming back next semester. Take a hint already and don’t hang around where you’re not wanted.  
Move out, drop out, I don’t give a shit. I’ll kick your ass and your little fag friend Hamilton’s if I ever see your face around the dorm again.  
You’ll find your shit in the dorm lost-and-found at the start of next semester - at least, whatever I decide not to keep.  
Kindly fuck off,  
Charles Lee_”

Hercules finished reading, his voice quiet with rage. Lafayette was glaring at the note, and the other three stared in shock.

“Mr. Mulligan, may I please have that note?” Mrs. Washington said, lips pursed.

He handed it over wordlessly. She scanned it quietly to herself, her expression growing harder with each passing second.

When she finished, she folded up the note and tucked it into her pocket. “Where is Mr. Burr now?”

“At John Laurens’ house, recovering,” said Hercules promptly. “He has pneumonia. I believe he was sick, unknowingly, for two days prior to the end of the semester, and then spent at least two hours sleeping outside on this bench in freezing cold weather before we found him.”

“Pneumonia?” asked Eliza worriedly. “Is he going to be all right?”

“Don’t worry about little Burr, we’re taking care of him,” Lafayette reassured her with his usual charming grin. 

“What incident is Lee referring to? The cause of all this?” asked Angelica. 

“Aaron told us this morning,” sighed Hercules. “Apparently, Lee hates Alexander, and they fought in Dr. Washington’s class last week.”

“Yes, my husband told me about it,” nodded Martha. “Although Alexander fighting with other students is hardly an unusual occurrence.”

“Well, this time, Aaron overheard Lee say that he was planning to corner Alex after the final and attack him,” continued Herc. “Aaron warned him off, and when Lee wouldn’t listen, Aaron punched him.” 

“A right good one, too!” crowed Lafayette. “You should see Aaron’s knuckles!” 

Hercules shot his friend a warning look.

“Ah, I mean, fighting is very wrong,” said Lafayette unconvincingly. “Even though Lee deserved it.”

“So let me get this straight,” Angelica plowed on. “Aaron punched Lee to stop Lee from attacking Alexander, and in return Lee and Conway conspired to commit attempted murder against Aaron by way of aggravated illness and exposure to the elements?” 

“Who said anything about murder?!” said Eliza, alarmed. “That’s a bit far –”

“Not if they knew Aaron had nowhere to go for the break,” Angelica shook her head. “Which they obviously did, since Conway had previously negotiated with him to allow him to stay in the dorm.”

“Which is against regulations,” interrupted Martha. “Hercules, did you know of this arrangement?”

“No ma’am, nor would I have allowed it,” he answered. “Lafayette and I are staying with John and Alex over the break, and we would have invited Aaron from the start had we known.” 

“Can I assume you’ll allow him to stay the rest of the break?” pressed Martha.

“The rest of forever!” answered Lafayette, throwing his arms up. “He’s not going back to stay with that dog, Lee!”

“We’re also here to collect Aaron’s stuff,” said Hercules much more sedately. “I hope no one minds if I get rid of this padlock.”

“Wait!” cried Eliza. She pulled out her phone and snapped a pic of the lock. “For the police report.”

“Smart, sis,” said Angelica.

Martha gestured for him to continue, and Hercules made quick work of the lock. Lee and Conway clearly hadn’t expected anyone to stay out for very long, just long enough to severely hamper (and possibly injure) Aaron.

“There’s also the matter of theft,” continued Angelica, still feverishly writing. “Lee threatened to take his things. We should take inventory of the room when we get there, run it by Aaron and make sure nothing is already missing. If it is, we can add it to the charges.”

Tossing the lock aside, Hercules pulled out his key and opened the door. The group quickly trudged inside and out of the cold.

They made their way up to the third floor. Hercules and Lafayette lived on the second, but they knew which room was Aaron’s from Alex’s frequent trips to bother the quieter man.

Mrs. Washington had a master key and used it to enter the dorm room. One half of the room, Lee’s, was fairly empty, he having taken most of his things with him over the break. Aaron’s side was exactly as Aaron had left it the morning before. While neat, it was clear that someone had gone through it, but not thoroughly.

Hercules and Lafayette packed up the canvas bags with everything they could find on Aaron’s side of the room. Angelica kept a log of what they found, and Eliza and Mrs. Washington helped organize. Between all of them they made short work of it.

“Don’t forget his inhaler,” Lafayette reminded Hercules, and they found it exactly where Aaron had told them to look. “Burr hinted that it has a tendency to go missing. It seems Lee truly has no problem with endangering another student’s health.”

“We won’t know til you ask Aaron, but if his inhaler’s here, everything else probably is too,” said Angelica, looking over her notes. “There’s no reason Lee would have left valuables like the laptop alone. He must have been planning to just keep whatever he wanted here.”

“Thanks again for the help,” Hercules said as they trooped back downstairs. 

“I need to file this incident with campus security and the administration,” Martha said. “Angelica, can you please send me your notes when you get home? And I’m sure this goes without saying, but I’ll be contacting your father as well.”

“He’ll be ready for it,” said Angelica. “Daddy won’t stand for this sort of behavior. Lee’s finished.”

Eliza nodded in agreement, arms crossed. “Take care of Aaron, won’t you, Herc?”

“Leave it to me,” said Hercules with a broad grin. Lafayette smirked as he looked between the two. 

Martha smiled knowingly as well and bid her goodbyes. Hercules and Lafayette walked the Schuyler sisters to their car, and then left as well.

///////////////////

When Herc and Lafayette returned, it was to a quiet house. They followed the low noise of the TV into the living room and found Aaron, still asleep on Alex’s shoulder, and John and Alex frantically shushing them. 

“ _Quiet!_ ” Alex hissed, pointing at Aaron, not even bothering to try to hide the delighted gleam in his eyes. 

“Sorry, sorry,” Herc whispered. 

John got up to help Herc and Lafayette carefully unload the car and drop all the bags into Aaron’s room, and then they all found seats back in the living room. 

The whispering continued throughout the next Parks and Rec episode, with Alex alternating between glaring at anyone who talked too loudly and doing most of the talking himself. Eventually, he felt Aaron begin to stir, and watched him slowly open his bleary eyes and look around.

The others continued to talk, and Alex let himself enjoy the brief private sight of Aaron’s eyes, looking only at him.

“So after Mrs. Washington showed up, we cut off the padlock and went up to the dorm,” Herc was explaining to John, neither of whom had noticed Aaron waking up.

“Mrs. Washington?” said Aaron groggily. “What?”

“Hey, bro,” said Herc, shooting Aaron a smile. “How’re you feeling?”

Aaron, realizing he was still slumped against a grinning Alex, quickly pushed himself upright and blinked. “Okay, I guess. Why were you talking to Mrs. Washington?”

Herc and Laf exchanged glances. “We called her to let her know about your situation, and to report Lee and Conway,” explained Herc. 

“You told her?” Aaron’s brow was furrowed.

“Yeah, Aaron, she needed to know,” John said as if it were an obvious decision. “How’re Lee and Conway gonna get busted if we didn’t tell Martha?”

Aaron looked down. He hadn’t really thought about busting them. Suddenly another thought crossed his mind, and his head shot back up.

“But…what if she tells Dr. Washington?” 

Herc shrugged. “Probably will. Hope so.”

Aaron shook his head. “ _Dammit_. Why did you have to call her?”

Alex was looking at Aaron with concern. “Why does it matter?”

When Aaron didn’t answer, Alex put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently. “Aaron? Why does it matter if the Washingtons know?”

“I didn’t want anyone to know, much less you guys, much less them! They already think so little of me, and this is just…pathetic,” he said quietly, gesturing to himself vaguely as though to refer to his general situation.

The entire room was quiet. Aaron chanced a glance up, and saw all eyes on him. He immediately looked back down at his hands.

“Well, you have to admit, it is,” he said morosely. 

“Okay, wow, where do I even start?” Alex finally said, sitting up straight and turning to face Aaron. “First of all, nothing about this situation is your fault at all, and you are not _pathetic_. You are the victim here, so no one is going to hold this situation against you.”

Aaron opened his mouth to argue, but Alex held up a finger and glared at him. 

“Secondly,” he said loudly, and Aaron realized he was in for the long haul. “This desire of yours to not ever let anyone know when you need help is absolutely ridiculous and has to stop. Everyone needs help sometimes, even I need help sometimes, and when I do, I _ask for it_. How many times have I gone to you with a problem with a homework assignment or a conflict with a student? Or because I was mad at a professor, or hell, because I couldn’t afford dinner? Many, many times, Aaron, because _it’s okay to do that_. And you almost died last night instead of calling someone for help! Jesus, Aaron, if I didn’t know better I’d think you have a death wish!” 

Aaron was staring at him now, frozen in place, his mouth open. “Alex –” 

“Ah ah ah! Alex has the floor!” Hamilton shouted over him. “Finally, what in the world makes you think the Washingtons think little of you? Martha loves everyone, first of all, and George is highly invested in _you!”_

A bitter laugh escaped Aaron, and before Alex could say anything more, Aaron was off. “Invested? In _me_? Come on, Alex, don’t lie. Everyone knows the only student George Washington is invested in is _you _. You’re his favorite – you’re the one he picks for everything, the one he makes time for in his office hours, the one he praises in class. He shows off your papers, makes you his TA even though you’re only a sophomore. He’s already hinted more than once that you’re the one he’ll give the department scholarship award to at the end of the year. Does he care that I could really use the scholarship money? Or that being a TA would pay me enough that I might actually be able to get a meal plan? No, of course not. He doesn’t care about me at all, at least not since you came around.”__

____

___Aaron abruptly stood. He made it two steps towards the hallway before wavering, one hand grabbing his head and the other reaching wildly for something to hold on to. He clutched onto the back of Hercules’ chair, and Alex and Herc were at his side instantly._ _ _

____

___Then, he began to cough._ _ _

____

___He coughed, again, and again, doubling over as they continued to wrack his body. John ran out of the room, shouting something about Aaron’s inhaler, and Laf helped the other two guide Aaron back to the couch._ _ _

____

___“Okay, you’re okay,” Herc repeated calmly. “It’s gonna be okay, you’re fine, Aaron. Just try to breathe with me. In and out, that’s right, in, and out. Coughing is okay, you’re going to be okay. Don’t panic. In, and out.”_ _ _

____

___Aaron stared at him, tears leaking out of his eyes as he tried desperately to match his breathing with Herc’s. John ran back into the room, holding out Aaron’s inhaler. Alex grabbed it from him and held it up to Aaron’s face, helping him breathe in and out._ _ _

____

___Alex continued this for a few minutes while Herc rubbed Aaron’s back. Eventually the coughing subsided, as well as the panic and pain in Aaron’s eyes. Finally, he took a few shaky breaths on his own, and slumped back onto the couch._ _ _

____

___“We’re going to urgent care,” Hercules said gently, meeting Aaron’s eyes. “I think you need antibiotics. You’re not getting any better.”_ _ _

____

___“It’s only been a day,” Alex reasoned, noticing Aaron’s desperate expression. “He’s bound to need some time, right?”_ _ _

____

___Herc shook his head. “He needs time, but he also needs medicine, and rest. You two arguing isn’t helping. At all.”_ _ _

____

___“But he needed to know –”_ _ _

____

___“I know,” Hercules raised a hand. “I know. And I’ll be happy to help you beat it through his head, when he’s better. Or at least more stable.”_ _ _

____

___“I’m…stable,” Aaron said weakly._ _ _

____

___“I’m sorry, Aaron, but you’re just going to have to listen to me on this,” said Herc, shaking his head. “We’re going to urgent care, and then tonight you’re going to rest, and tomorrow we can continue this conversation _without_ shouting.”_ _ _

____

___Aaron nodded weakly, closing his eyes and sucking in shallow, whistling breaths. He let the rest of the group flurry around him while he focused on keeping his breathing steady. It was more work than usual, and while he’d been sick before, the asthma usually didn’t affect him too badly. But the sudden onset of pneumonia and all the craziness of the last few days had clearly compounded the condition, and now it was all he could do to sit there and keep his head from spinning._ _ _

____

___A few minutes later, he again found himself bundled into John’s car, and again tucked into the backseat between Hercules and Alex. Cracking an eye open, he saw that Lafayette and John were in the front, and he wondered for a moment why all four of them had found it necessary to come along._ _ _

____

___“Because we care, idiot,” Alex said with resigned sigh._ _ _

____

___Aaron wondered how much he had been saying aloud, and resolved to keep quiet for the rest of the ride. The closest urgent care wasn’t too far from campus, and from what Aaron could wearily surmise, they’d all been there on a few occasions for various injuries and mishaps. It was fairly cleared out that evening, as most of campus had gone home for the winter and the surrounding city wasn’t all that large anyway._ _ _

____

___Hercules settled Aaron on a plastic chair between Alex and John and went to check in. Aaron closed his eyes for a moment and next thing he knew he was being nudged awake by Alex._ _ _

____

___“Doc’s ready for you,” he said, helping Aaron stand. He and Herc helped Aaron into the exam room while John and Lafayette waited behind._ _ _

____

___The examination didn’t take long. Aaron mostly sat quietly and obeyed the doctor’s orders while Herc and Alex answered questions and described his symptoms. Twenty minutes later they left the urgent care with a prescription for antibiotics and treatment suggestions, all of which Alex and Herc had absorbed with rapt attention._ _ _

____

___They helped him again back to the waiting room. Aaron tried to protest that he was capable of walking on his own – which he definitely, absolutely was – but his chest still hurt and his head was getting fuzzier by the minute and his protesting was rather weak. The others clearly noticed, and helped him back to the car._ _ _

____

___“I’m gonna drop you guys off at home and then me and Laf will go get the prescription filled,” John said as he started up the car. “Do we need anything else?”_ _ _

____

___“Maybe some more soup,” said Hercules. “Bananas, applesauce, you know, easy foods. I think we’re good on the medication, though.”_ _ _

____

___“Because you’re basically a one-man pharmacy,” teased John._ _ _

____

___“Only because I have to be,” shot back Herc._ _ _

____

___Aaron closed his eyes and let the sounds drift around him. Alex told himself that he was only staring at Aaron because it was too dark to look out the window._ _ _

____

___ _

____

___///////////////////_ _ _

____

___ _

____

___The rest of the night passed smoothly, with no more coughing fits from Aaron. The group got him into bed easily enough, and Herc loaded him up with enough soup and antibiotics to get him through the night._ _ _

____

___Alex hovered outside Aaron’s door for a solid five minutes before Lafayette happened to walk by and dragged him into the living room._ _ _

____

___“We must talk, mon ami,” Lafayette said as he pushed Alex into the living room._ _ _

____

___“Talk about what?” said Alex, feigning hurt at being shoved._ _ _

____

___“About how you’re totally in love with Burr and are being an asshole because of it,” John said plainly from his spot on the couch. He smirked as Alex started sputtering wildly._ _ _

____

___“What – how dare you – the lies, the _filthy lies_ I’m hearing right now –”_ _ _

____

___“Oh, just save it, will you?” John rolled his eyes. “It’s so damn obvious it hurts. I’d wonder how Aaron hasn’t figured it out already, but after tonight…Face it, Alexander, there’s not enough room in this relationship for two oblivious idiots, and Aaron’s already got it covered.”_ _ _

____

___“Don’t call him an idiot!” Alex said hotly._ _ _

____

___“Oh, I’ll call him an idiot, because that’s what he is,” John said matter-of-factly. “And I’ll call him one to his face, tomorrow, when he starts blathering on about how the world hates him again. But you’re an idiot too if you let your stupid arguing get in the way of admitting that you have feelings for him.”_ _ _

____

___Alex stomped over to the nearest armchair and sat down with a _hmph_. He crossed his arms and stared at John for a full thirty seconds before his expression broke._ _ _

____

___“Okay, I’m in love with Aaron,” he sighed, slumping back in his seat._ _ _

____

___“No shit,” Herc grunted from where he’d been watching the proceedings._ _ _

____

___“Yes, as Hercules says, no shit,” Lafayette laughed. “We all know you Alex. And I believe dearest Aaron loves you too, even if he hasn’t figured it out yet.”_ _ _

____

___Alex’s eyes grew wide. “You really think so?”_ _ _

____

___“Did you or did you not hear him rant about how his entire life revolves around you?” said John, eyebrows raised. “Honestly, it was sickening.”_ _ _

____

___Lafayette nodded knowingly. “Unresolved sexual tension! The room was full of it!”_ _ _

____

___“Oh come on, that doesn’t happen outside movies,” Alex said, looking unconvinced._ _ _

____

___“We all felt it, all up in here,” Herc insisted. He shook his head and wandered out of the room and into the kitchen. “And you better do something about it, and I don’t mean argue!”_ _ _

____

___“I literally cannot handle another moment of it, so work it out, Alex,” said John, turning back to the TV._ _ _

____

___“We’ll help,” Lafayette reassured him with a smile. “Don’t worry, mon ami!”_ _ _

____

___ _

____

___///////////////////_ _ _

____

___ _

____

___The next day brought little change to Aaron’s condition, and he spent most of the morning resting on the couch. He couldn’t shake the feeling of cold in his bones, so Hercules had wrapped him up in the guest bed comforter and kept him in fresh supply of tea, with the promise of a warm shower later._ _ _

____

___He didn’t see the rest of the gang for most of the morning, and Herc explained they’d gone out to run some “Christmas errands,” although Aaron couldn’t fathom what that meant. More than likely that meant some sort of hooliganism or stupidity, and Aaron didn’t bother to ask for clarification._ _ _

____

___The other three returned just before lunch, arms laden with bags from a wide variety of stores. Aaron kept his eyes on the House rerun he was watching. One by one, the others filtered back into the living room, each taking a seat and generally avoiding being the first one to speak._ _ _

____

___Aaron sighed. Reaching for the remote, he shut off the TV and cleared his throat._ _ _

____

___“Let’s just get this over with,” he said, dropping the remote back on the couch and wrapping up tighter in his comforter. “I’m sure there’s a lecture coming. Let’s have it.”_ _ _

____

___“Actually, before we begin here, I have a question,” John said, looking over at Aaron with a serious expression. “You mentioned before that if you were a TA, you could afford a meal plan. Are you telling me you don’t have a meal plan?”_ _ _

____

___Aaron’s eyes widened a fraction. “Did I say that?”_ _ _

____

___“Yeah, you did,” John confirmed. “And now that I think about it, in the past two years I have never once seen you in the cafeteria.”_ _ _

____

___“I don’t eat in the cafeteria,” said Aaron evasively._ _ _

____

___“Where do you eat?” Hercules pressed._ _ _

____

___Aaron was silent._ _ _

____

___Hercules groaned and wiped a hand down his face. “Aaron, buddy, you gotta work with me here. Do you get regular meals? Do you buy groceries? What’s your food budget?”_ _ _

____

___“I buy groceries at the Dollar Store,” said Aaron grudgingly. “My food budget is whatever’s left over from the extra loans I take out each semester, after rent and textbooks and whatever tuition isn’t covered by my scholarship are paid for. And no, I don’t eat regularly. I stock up on non-perishables and sometimes I walk down to the food kitchen downtown because they’re nice and they don’t question me about my eating habits, unlike some people.”_ _ _

____

___“You can get pissy with us all you want but that’s not gonna change the fact that someone’s gotta ask these questions,” John said. “Did your parents leave you any money?”_ _ _

____

___“It’s in a trust fund. I can’t get access to it until I’m 21.”_ _ _

____

___“Which is when, next year?” asked John._ _ _

____

___Aaron didn’t immediately respond, but rather looked even more uncomfortable than before. Sighing, he mumbled something that none of them could hear._ _ _

____

___“You’re what?” asked Herc, brow furrowed._ _ _

____

___“I’m 18, okay?” he spat out. “So yeah, that money doesn’t do me any good, not for three more years.”_ _ _

____

___“Wait a second,” Alex finally chimed in. “You’re a junior? And you’re 18?”_ _ _

____

___“Yes, Alexander,” said Aaron through gritted teeth._ _ _

____

___“I’m older than you?!”_ _ _

____

___“Yes, Alexander.”_ _ _

____

___“So you’re a fucking prodigy? And we never knew?!”_ _ _

____

___“I’ve kept my age on the down low, okay?” Aaron’s said, defeated. “But since you assholes are determined to know _every tiny detail_ of my life, I guess you might as well know that one too!”_ _ _

____

___“But I’m _older than you_ –”_ _ _

____

___Lafayette cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow at Alex, who immediately got the hint. Alex sat back against the couch, silently pouting._ _ _

____

___“Okay, so, I just want to make sure I fully understand the situation,” Hercules said patiently. “Aaron, you’re 18. So you started college at 16? Skipped a few grades, something like that?”_ _ _

____

___Aaron nodded grudgingly._ _ _

____

___“All right. So you’re 18, you’re an orphan, your sister’s abandoned you, you’re so broke you can’t even buy food, you room with the biggest asshole at our school because you didn’t have anyone who would room with you, and you punched said asshole after you contracted pneumonia, and then nearly died on a bench instead of asking for help. Did I get all that right?”_ _ _

____

___Hercules finished and looked at Aaron expectantly._ _ _

____

___“Yeah, you got it about right,” said Aaron quietly._ _ _

____

___“That’s rough, buddy,” John said from the corner._ _ _

____

___“Thank you, John,” Herc rolled his eyes. “Aaron, do you know that we want to help you?”_ _ _

____

___Aaron shifted, looking down at the comforter wrapped around him and the empty tea mug and the borrowed pajama bottoms he was still wearing._ _ _

____

___“Yeah, I know,” he said, looking back up at Herc. “And I know I’m not good at showing it, but I am grateful.”_ _ _

____

___Hercules’ face broke into a grin. He clapped once and stood up. “Great! Then we have permission to continue helping you!”_ _ _

____

___“Why does it sound like I’m going to regret this?” Aaron whined, looking at the others._ _ _

____

___“Don’t worry, little Burr! Everything will be okay now! I promise,” Lafayette purred, patting Aaron on the head._ _ _

____

___“So things are going to be different from now on,” Hercules continued, smiling at Lafayette’s antics. “You’re going to stay here with Alex and John.”_ _ _

____

___“For the rest of break?” asked Aaron._ _ _

____

___“Until you graduate, and longer if you need it,” corrected Alex._ _ _

____

___Aaron’s jaw dropped. He looked as though he was trying to speak, but for a moment could make no sound._ _ _

____

___“And you’re not paying rent, so don’t worry about that,” John finished, propping his legs up on the arm of the couch._ _ _

____

___Aaron finally found his voice. “I can’t just, not pay rent.”_ _ _

____

___“I don’t pay rent,” said Alex plainly. “John doesn’t either. His parents gave him this house and they pay for it. You’re not imposing by not paying.”_ _ _

____

___Aaron frowned. “And they don’t care that you’ve both invited a…a freeloader to crash here?”_ _ _

____

___John burst into laughter. “Is that what you think you are? Look, dude, you need help, like lots of help, and my parents might be kind of assholes but they would want to help you. And they don’t care who stays here – it’s my house, they have their own – and I want you here, and I don’t want your money. I’ve got plenty, thanks.”_ _ _

____

___Aaron stared at John for a few moments. John raised his eyebrows in unspoken question, and finally Aaron nodded his understanding._ _ _

____

___Alex beamed at their interaction. “You can just keep the room you’re in right now. We’ll take you out when you’re better to buy anything else you need.”_ _ _

____

___“I don’t deserve all this. Thank you, all of you,” said Aaron quietly._ _ _

____

___Alex made a sound and threw himself at the younger man, enveloping him (and his comforter) in a hug._ _ _

____

___“You do deserve it,” he whispered fiercely._ _ _

____

___Aaron found himself sinking into the hug. He closed his eyes and let himself pretend for a moment that what Alex said was true._ _ _

____

___Above Aaron’s head, Lafayette gave Aaron a significant look and gestured to the sick man. Alex nodded slowly, biting his lip. The other three made a quick and quiet exit from the living room._ _ _

____

___After a minute or two, Alex pulled away from Aaron. He rearranged Aaron’s blanket so that it settled again around his head and shoulders, keeping him warm._ _ _

____

___“Aaron, I’ve got a confession,” said Alex, hands flitting around nervously. “And I don’t want you to think I’ve been keeping secrets, because I haven’t, not really, not intentionally, but sometimes it’s hard to say things, it’s hard to find the right words at the right time and I end up saying nothing…”_ _ _

____

___“You, say nothing?” Aaron smiled. “I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed that.”_ _ _

____

___“Aaron,” Alex began, taking a deep breath. “Aaron, I –”_ _ _

____

___“I like you too,” blurted out Aaron. He looked shocked at his own words. “I’m sorry, that was so presumptuous –”_ _ _

____

___“No!” cried Alex. “It’s not! It’s true! I like you too, so much! You like me? Seriously?”_ _ _

____

___“Seriously,” said Aaron. “I just guessed that’s where you were going, because you looked so nervous…Alex, I’ve liked you for a long time.”_ _ _

____

___“Me too,” said Alex breathlessly._ _ _

____

___“And you still like me, after all you’ve learned about me today?”_ _ _

____

___“Aaron, I’ve been dying to learn more about you!” laughed Alex. “And today I’ve learned you’re a prodigy who is self-reliant, compassionate, complex, and a great friend. I like you more than ever.”_ _ _

____

___Aaron let out a long breath. “Wow. I…wow.”_ _ _

____

___“I want to kiss you,” Alex said, inching closer._ _ _

____

___“Me too. But you could get sick,” Aaron frowned, but inched forward as well._ _ _

____

___“Fuck it,” grinned Alex. Then he was grabbing Aaron by the shoulders and pressing their lips together in a warm, fierce embrace._ _ _

____

___They reached for each other, lost in the feeling of finally being close. This was the first time they’d been alone with each other, truly alone, and Aaron instinctively knew he should take full advantage of this rare occasion._ _ _

____

___Their kiss was desperate, but soft, with that edge of intensity that Aaron had come to associate with Alex. Aaron’s skin was clammy, but Alex held on regardless, undeterred._ _ _

____

___After a few breathless moments, Aaron pulled back, breathing heavily._ _ _

____

___“Just need to catch my breath,” he said, smiling shyly at Alex._ _ _

____

___Alex stared at his flushed face and wide eyes. He supposed he must look similar._ _ _

____

___“Are you okay?” asked Alex, reaching up to feel Aaron’s forehead._ _ _

____

___“Never better,” smirked Aaron, lunging forward to catch Alex in another kiss. This certainly wasn't what he had expected out of his life, but if this was his one shot at happiness, he wasn't going to throw it away._ _ _

____

___He had a feeling the rest of college wasn't going to be nearly so bad._ _ _

____


End file.
